Gold Blows Past $5,000, Saudi Rewrites NEOM, Intel Cracks, and Tesla Turns Autopilot Into a Subscription Bet

Markets are flashing stress signals and strategic pivots all at once. Gold and silver smash historic milestones as investors flee uncertainty, piling into hard assets amid geopolitical tension, tariff anxiety, and questions around the Fed’s independence. Saudi Arabia quietly redraws its NEOM ambitions as fiscal reality collides with megaproject dreams, while Intel’s turnaround narrative takes a hit after manufacturing bottlenecks overshadow an earnings beat. Meanwhile, Elon Musk pulls the plug on Tesla’s basic Autopilot, doubling down on Full Self-Driving subscriptions and turning belief, not hardware, into the product. All this and more in today’s Read It and Eat!

MAJOR HEADLINES

• Gold rises past $5,000 for first time and silver shoots past $100 per ounce

Silver prices rose above $100 an ounce ​for the first time ever on Friday, while gold hit another record en route ‌to $5,000/oz as investors pile into safe-haven assets amid geopolitical turmoil and on expectations for U.S. interest rate cuts. Spot silver jumped 4.5% to $100.49 an ounce. "Silver should continue to benefit from many of the same forces supporting gold investment demand," said Philip Newman, a director at Metals Focus.

The metal ​has surged more than 200% in the past year, also driven by ongoing challenges in scaling up refining of the metal and a persistent supply shortage in the market. "Traders pushed steadily for and ‍achieved the milestone $100 print; investors will wait to see if it can sustain through the close or will there be profit-taking from recent speculators," said Tai Wong, an independent metals trader. Spot gold was 0.8% higher at $4,976.49 an ounce, after ⁠touching a record of $4,988.17 earlier. U.S. gold futures for February delivery added 1.3% to $4,978.60. "Gold's role as ‍a haven and a diversifier in highly uncertain economic and political times is making it a necessity for strategic ‌portfolios. It's ‌more than a perfect storm, which doesn't last, it's a sign of fundamentally changing times," Wong added.

Since the start of 2026, friction between the U.S. and NATO over Greenland, concerns about the Federal Reserve's independence, and continued uncertainty over tariffs have driven a surge in demand for safe‑haven assets. Central bank buying and a ⁠broader move away from ⁠the dollar have also ​underpinned gold's rise. On the U.S. policy front, the Fed is expected to hold interest rates steady at its January 27–28 meeting, but markets still expect two further rate cuts in the second half of 2026. CNBC

• Saudi Arabia to scale back Neom Megaproject

Saudi Arabia’s flagship NEOM development is set to be significantly scaled back and redesigned as a year-long internal review nears completion. According to the report, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), who chairs the NEOM project, now envisions a development that is “far smaller” than originally planned, reflecting growing acknowledgement within Riyadh of delays, cost overruns, and flaws in the project’s initial conception and execution.

NEOM, launched in 2017 as part of the kingdom’s economic transformation plans, stretches along the Red Sea coast and covers an area roughly the size of Belgium. Its most ambitious component, The Line, a proposed 170-kilometre linear city, is expected to be radically scaled back and reimagined. People familiar with the review said, The Line could be redesigned into a more modest project that makes use of infrastructure already built, while NEOM itself may pivot towards becoming a hub for data centres as Saudi Arabia pushes to position itself as a global player in artificial intelligence. The reassessment comes as Saudi Arabia seeks to manage tighter liquidity after years of heavy spending, with oil prices remaining subdued. Riyadh is also facing major financial commitments linked to preparations for hosting Expo 2030 and the football World Cup in 2034.

NEOM said in a statement to the FT that it was "always looking at how to phase and prioritise" its initiatives to align with national objectives and long-term value creation, adding that the project was advancing in line with strategic priorities and sustainable economic impact. Several high-profile components of NEOM have already been affected. Riyadh announced over the weekend that the Trojena ski resort, which is to be downsized, will no longer host the Asian Winter Games in 2029. Other planned developments include Oxagon, a coastal industrial and logistics zone. Neom is owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), which manages assets worth close to $1 trillion and is also chaired by MBS. The fund has come under increasing pressure to deliver returns on its vast portfolio of megaprojects as the kingdom recalibrates its spending priorities. Financial Times 

• Intel stock drops 17%, its worst day since 2024, as manufacturing troubles overshadow earnings beat

Intel shares plunged 17% on Friday after the chipmaker issued lackluster guidance and warned of a supply shortage. The stock notched its worst day since August 2024.

During a fourth-quarter earnings call with analysts Thursday, CEO Lip-Bu Tan said the company wouldn't be able to meet full demand for its products. He said production efficiency, or yield, is also below his targets. "We are on a multiyear journey," he said. "It will take time and resolve." The chipmaker expects first-quarter revenue to range between $11.7 billion and $12.7 billion, and adjusted earnings per share to break even. That was below LSEG expectations for earnings of 5 cents per share and $12.51 billion in revenue. Over the last year, Intel shares have rallied more than double on hopes of a turnaround for the embattled American chipmaker, following investments from the U.S. government, SoftBank and Nvidia.

The company's foundry business has long underperformed competitors, which are profiting massively from the data center artificial intelligence boom. Investors were looking for clarity on foundry customers as the next momentum mover for the stock. The company's foundry business creates chips for other companies. CFO David Zinsner told CNBC that Intel expects customers for its next-generation 14A technology to appear in the second half of the year. But analysts at RBC Capital Markets warned that a "meaningful revenue contribution" from 14A customers may not pop up until late 2028. "We appreciate the recent excitement around opportunity for INTC but still don't see a clear path forward given further share loss, no AI strategy and unclear fab/packaging opportunities," wrote analysts at Jefferies. CNBC

• Elon Musk kills Tesla Autopilot to push Full Self-Driving subscriptions

Tesla (TSLA) removed its Autopilot basic self-driving software as a standard feature in the US on new Model Y and Model 3 purchases as the company pushes its more advanced FSD (full self-driving) subscriptions. Per Tesla’s website, new orders for Tesla’s entry-level models no longer offer Autopilot as a standard option, now only offering a Traffic-Aware Cruise Control, essentially an adaptive cruise control that allows the vehicle to change speeds when following another car on the highway.

Previously, Autopilot offered Traffic-Aware Cruise Control and auto-steer, which allowed the car to stay centered in its lane and change lanes using the turn signals.

This new development is Telsa chasing its next source of recurring revenue. Musk recently indicated that regulatory approval for supervised FSD in Europe and China could arrive as early as next month. In a move to accelerate this transition, Tesla officially nixed its Autopilot basic software this week, effectively nudging new buyers toward the $99-a-month FSD subscription.

The move signals Tesla’s broader pivot toward monetizing autonomy as a narrative-driven revenue stream rather than a standard vehicle feature. By stripping Autopilot down to basic cruise control and positioning Full Self-Driving as a premium add-on, Musk is effectively asking buyers to pay into the promise of future autonomy, not today’s driving fundamentals. It’s a strategy that reframes Tesla less as a car company optimizing features and more as a platform selling conviction, one where recurring software subscriptions matter more than traditional performance metrics, and belief in what FSD will become is the product being sold. Yahoo.Finance

Minor Headlines

• Capital One Strikes $5.15 Billion Deal for Fintech Brex Wall Street Journal 

• Trade surplus hits 3-year high in November EnterpriseAM

• Sanctioned Iranian banker amassed €400mn European property empire  Financial Times

• Key French broadcaster seeks media law revamp to join Europe's M&A party Reuters

• Italy’s €2 tax on small parcels misfires Financial Times 

• Musetti blitzes Fritz to set up Djokovic showdown in Melbourne Reuters

• Rheinmetall and OHB in talks over Starlink-style service for German army Financial Times 

• Trump moved to cut funding for ICE body cameras, pared back oversight Reuters